Panama dethrones the United States and advances to the Gold Cup final

This Wednesday, Panama defeated the USA on penalties (1-1, 4-5 in the shootout) and after the elimination of the current champion, they will play the final of this tournament on Sunday in Los Angeles (USA).
This will be the third Gold Cup final for Panama, who failed to win the title on the previous two occasions (2005 and 2013).

The Panamanian team, with goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera as the hero of the shootout with two saved penalties, will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Mexico and Jamaica in the final.

The USA was coming off another grueling quarterfinal match against Canada that also ended in penalty kicks, but this time it was the end for the Stars and Stripes.
Adalberto Carrasquilla, the best in Panama in this intense and very exciting match, sealed the final penalty.

The match ended goalless after 90 minutes, Iván Anderson gave the Panamanian team the lead in the 99th minute and Colombian-American Jesús Ferreira equalized for the USA in the 105th minute, bringing the semifinal to a nerve-wracking penalty shootout where the channel team sang victory.

panic exit
Before the clock ticked 30 seconds, the USA had a narrow opportunity.
Panama made a mistake starting from the back and the ball ended up at the feet of Cade Cowell, who left Mosquera’s left post shaking with a close-range shot.

The game started quickly – surprisingly in the sweltering heat of San Diego – but it was the USA who posed the biggest threat as two powerful and big forwards in Cowell and Brandon Vázquez entered the starting lineup to guard Ferreira.
After a few initial scares, the Panamanian team settled on the field, won the field and began looking into the opposite area.

His first approach came in the 12th minute with a venomous shot, between a shot on goal and a sharp cross, by Ismael Díaz who was well saved by Matt Turner.

The USA relented, with less and less speed in the circulation of the ball, and the team led by Thomas Christiansen took the initiative.
The scoreboard of the Spanish-Danish coach shone in the 28th minute with a nice play prepared in the corner that ended with a goal by Yoel Bárcenas, but the referee canceled the goal due to offside.
Against the USA, who were fading as the minutes ticked by, Panama added chances such as a cross from the left by Éric Davis, whose ‘deadly pass’ failed to find the finisher.

Díaz and Alberto Quintero had double chances after stoppage time, but Panama’s dominance was unrewarded and the USA went into halftime relieved to have kept a clean sheet.

goal chance
Two sets recharged their batteries and came out with a bite in the restart.
After a fantastic individual action by Cowell, Vázquez inexplicably missed a shot already in a small area in the 52nd minute and just after that Panama responded with a header from Díaz, served by a magnificent cross from Bárcenas, which Turner denied with another well-deserved save.
Even clearer was Ferreira for the USA in the 65th minute, who received the ball very close to the penalty spot and whose cross and biting shot went inches from the Panamanian goal.

Probably under the influence of fatigue, Panama retreated against a more intense American team that combined better and better with Ferreira in attack.
However, Panama wanted to avoid extending the discount.

In the 93rd minute, Carrasquilla found a great pass for Díaz, who scored what appeared to be the final goal, but the referee not only disallowed the goal for offside, but also failed to flag possible handball by the USA inside the penalty area.

Anderson scores, Ferrerira responds
The goal that was registered on the scoreboard was Anderson already in overtime.
Once again, Carrasquilla, the brains of the Central American team, leaked a perfect pass to Anderson, who was caught offside by the clueless DeAndre Yedlin and who, after canceling Turner’s desperation finish, sent the Panamanian team into euphoria in the 99th minute.
The joy lasted just six minutes, the time it took for Ferreira, the Gold Cup’s top scorer, to tie the score for the USA.

Jordan Morris sent a dangling ball into Panama’s area with his head, and the American of Colombian origin sent it into the net with a shot without letting up.
Almost out of steam in the second half of overtime, the two teams settled for penalties in which Mosquera started the series by saving Ferreira’s shot.

Turner, excellent in the penalty shootout against Canada, saved Cristian Martínez’s shot, but Mosquera once again became huge under the posts and thwarted Cristian Roldán’s shot.
Carrasquilla took charge and, tricking Turner, extended Panama’s dream of winning their first Gold Cup.